Chapter 44 Return to London 6 Strange New Neighbors
The move went so smoothly that Heather didn't have time to worry about anything before she was already sitting comfortably on the sofa in her new home.
Before that, Lancaster spent a day reviewing the house purchase contract and assisted in completing the full payment, while the housekeeper Johnson and his wife, who had been unemployed at home, took on all the directing work of the actual operation process.
This house in Paddington was already well-maintained, so even if a thorough cleaning was necessary before moving in, it took less than a day. For now, the larger furniture is still the original owner's, but we can gradually replace and add to it as needed once we move in.
There are already several mature moving companies in London this century. Mr. Johnson has his eyes on a century-old brand in advance. This moving company provides covered freight carriages and strong workers, charging only 3 shillings per hour.
As expected, money brings peace of mind. On the weekend after Christmas, Heather and Mary boarded a carriage and prepared to settle down in their new home. The Gardners and Jane also went with all the children.
The Gardners were full of praise for this small yet well-equipped home. Including the basement, the house has four floors: the living room, dining room, and study on the first floor; a master bedroom, three secondary bedrooms, and two guest rooms on the second floor; and a loft on the third floor, originally housing three maids' rooms and a laundry room. The specific layout is customizable.
Heather naturally occupied the largest master bedroom on the second floor, while Mary chose the second bedroom closest to the lake with the best view. Jane also chose a second bedroom, but for the time being she would mostly stay at Mrs. Gardner's, visiting only occasionally. Paddington and Gracechurch were only a twenty-minute drive apart, so traveling between them would take about the same amount of time as going out for a stroll. Mrs. Gardner promised to bring Lily and the others to her aunt's house every week whenever Heather was free.
The house also boasts three outbuildings: a small, glass-roofed greenhouse, a stable with room for two carriages, and a gardener's cottage, demonstrating the original owner's dedication to gardening. Heather plans to transform the cottage into her own botanical studio, employing a professional gardener for occasional lawn mowing and other duties herself.
After moving into the new house, the most urgent things might be a few maids and a cook who suits everyone's taste. However, Heather threw all these troublesome things to Mrs. Johnson. Since she was already a wealthy woman, she decided to just pay money and not spend too much effort.
Mrs. Johnson prepared dinner for the first night of the housewarming, using ingredients Mrs. Gardner had the servants bring from home. Everyone was amazed by the meal, and even Heather herself, who hadn't known Mrs. Johnson had such good cooking skills, urged her to cook a meal every now and then, even after the new cook arrived.
At night, Heather lay on the soft big bed and sighed comfortably. You know, if it were in modern times, even if she saved up her salary for five years, she would not be able to buy her own house in full. But now she only spent one fiftieth of her property and moved into her dream house painlessly. How could she not be happy?
Heather contentedly fell asleep early, but Mary lay awake, unable to fall asleep. She had left the curtains open, so from her bed she could see the lake shimmering in the moonlight and streetlights. Far from frightening her, this feeling made her feel like a bird, caged for so long and suddenly released into the wild, undecided about where to fly, yet also filled with genuine joy at the freedom of unfettered freedom.
Mary felt that the little bird in her heart was eager to take her across the river and woods and fly into the distant sky.
She closed her eyes and imagined the stars twinkling around her: "Mary Bennett, you seem to have been blessed by the goddess of luck, oh no, actually, by your dear aunt!"
The next morning, Mary overslept for the first time. Heather had nothing to do after dinner, but she didn't want to start studying serious matters so soon, so she suddenly decided to visit her neighbor, the one who had grown a whole wall of plants in the middle of winter.
Heather asked Mrs. Johnson to help prepare a plate of French cookies and then rang the doorbell next door.
Five minutes later, she was shivering in the cold wind while holding the cookies, and she deeply doubted her own judgment. Could it be that the person who created such an exquisite plant wall might not be a cute and lively girl, but a weird and arrogant old man?
Just as she was about to turn around and leave, the door banged open.
Heather subconsciously looked inside and saw a young woman in light blue house clothes standing at the door, panting. She held a paintbrush in her left hand, and her right hand and body were covered with various colors of paint. It seemed that she had hurried down to open the door after hearing the bell.
"Sorry to bother you. My name is Heather Lawrence. I just moved into the house next door yesterday, and I wanted to come and get to know my new neighbors." Heather stretched out the plate in her hand.
The young woman opened the door and stared at Heather's face, then turned her gaze to the plate of freshly baked shortbread. She seemed to want to reach out and try a piece immediately, but because she couldn't find two clean fingers, she had to give up.
"This looks delicious! I haven't eaten in almost twelve hours. You're here just in time!" She smiled widely and opened the door wide. "If you don't mind, please come in. Let me wash my hands first."
Heather, having nothing else to do, followed him inside. The structure of the house was nearly identical to her own, but the level of cleanliness was worlds apart. The first-floor living room was cluttered with boxes, several cloaks and coats were thrown on the sofa, and a plate of stale, day-old cookies sat on the coffee table. Heather thought of the meticulously tended plant wall she'd seen and seriously wondered if she'd knocked on the wrong door.
The woman returned soon. She quickly stuffed a cookie into her mouth, choked, and took a sip of the cold tea on the table before mumbling, "Sorry, I'm really starving. I was so busy that I realized I hadn't eaten for more than ten hours until you rang the doorbell. Oh, yes, my name is Anna Wellesley, just call me Anna."
Heather was curious as she watched her wolf down her food. "More than ten hours? Were you painting? I see your hands are covered in paint."
Anna finished the last bite at the speed of light before answering, "Yes, do you want to come and see?"
Anna led Heather to the second floor. She had connected the two guest rooms and a second bedroom on the second floor to form a large painting studio. She said that almost no one would be invited to stay overnight at her house.
Anna's studio looks even messier than the living room on the first floor, mainly because there are too many scattered painting tools, paints all over the floor, a lot of potted plants and an extra-long and wide table.
When Heather walked over, she found that there was a plant specimen about one square meter on the table. Moreover, it was not an ordinary plant that was common nowadays, at least she had never seen it among the pile of books in Longborn's study.
Anna noticed Heather lingering in front of the specimen and explained thoughtfully, "This is a rare ornamental plant called Colocasia esculenta. Living specimens can probably only be seen in the Royal Botanic Gardens or the Royal Conservatory. I've drawn it before, but there are many different varieties. This one hasn't been exhibited yet, so you definitely haven't seen it."
Anna showed her painting to Heather again. "This is the result of my hard work all night yesterday. Look, now it's finally finished."
Heather looked closely and saw that the painting wasn't exactly based on a specimen; it was likely a proportional reproduction of a real, living plant. Anna's painting skills were clearly very mature, and every line on the leaf was lifelike.
"So, you've seen this plant yourself, even though it hasn't been herbed?"
Anna nodded. "Yes, but the plant is too big to carry back home and draw from it. So I had to bring the specimen back and draw it based on my memory. How about it? Doesn't it look very realistic?"
Heather didn't answer for a moment. She lowered her head in concentration, gently running her hand over the blank space of the canvas, observing the painting inch by inch. The sunlight shone on her side face, and Anna was a little distracted for a moment.
"Anna, look, there might be something wrong with the painting here."
Anna came to her senses and quickly leaned over: "Ah! Don't scare me! If I draw it wrong, my employer will definitely call me back and ask me to redraw it."
Heather was surprised for a moment. She had thought Anna lived in such a house because she loved painting. You have to know that in this restrictive era, there were very few women who could make a living as painters, and most of those who could do so came from the lower classes and could only earn a meager salary. Anna obviously had some wealth to live here.
"Your drawing is excellent, but if I'm not mistaken, this specimen of yours is of the Elephant's Ear Taro. The point where the petiole base meets the leaf blade should have a V-shaped indentation, but you drew it as a smooth arc. Perhaps it's because the specimen has shrunk, so it's not particularly noticeable."
Anna wailed. "Oh no! She's so strict! If I make a mistake and hand it in, she'll definitely give me a stern scold. But Heather, are you sure it's V-shaped? I can't quite remember what the living specimens looked like, but I've drawn this plant several times and no one's ever pointed out anything wrong with it. Oh, and the specimens from last time haven't been returned yet. I'll find them for you."
Anna searched through the large cabinet in the corner for a long time and finally pulled out a specimen of similar size.
"Look, the label above also says 'Giant Taro'. I clearly remember that the outline I drew last time was the same, but the details on the leaves are a little different."
As soon as Hessel got it, he immediately realized the problem. It turned out to be just what the textbooks said: 19th-century European botanists generally couldn't tell the difference between calla lilies and elephant ear taro. For a long time, they considered elephant ear taro to be a species of the earlier discovered calla lily, just larger in size.
At this moment, the brief note in the textbook seemed to come alive and appeared in her real life so casually.
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